


Gentle Encouragement

by Recourse



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Mutual Pining, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 11:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recourse/pseuds/Recourse
Summary: William's an attentive father.So he knows what's going on between his daughter and her best friend.





	Gentle Encouragement

William Price is an attentive father.

It’s something he takes a certain level of pride in, and while his wife will occasionally dig at their daughter being an obvious daddy’s girl, he can’t feel ashamed of it. Seeing Chloe smile has been the main source of joy in his life since she was born.

So when Chloe meets Maxine Caulfield, and they start getting along famously almost immediately, Wiliam’s happy to encourage the friendship. He’s the one who’s most often forced to be their shepherd through childhood, since he gets off work earlier than Max’s parents and Joyce is so frequently taking night shifts. He’s happy to watch over them. Despite his daughter’s...recklessness.

He takes them up to the lighthouse one day, hoping it’ll be open and they can all go up into the building and look out over the ocean. He knows Max, with her little disposable camera that she holds in a death-grip ninety percent of the time, would adore it, and Chloe would lean over the side and gasp and wish to be a seagull.

But when they get there he tries the door and finds it stubbornly locked. Max shows no disappointment, of course; the girl can roll with anything so long as she’s around Chloe. Chloe pouts briefly, but Max is able to draw her back into the hiking path to search for weird bugs, and William takes a moment to sit on the bench and watch them. Such good kids.

His cell phone buzzes, and he takes a minute to check what Joyce sent him — a grocery request for tonight, nothing major — and then Max _screams._

He looks up in a panic and sees Chloe hanging off the opposite side of the wooden railing, dangling over the cliff and laughing as Max stares on in fear, camera discarded at her feet. “ _Chloe!_ ” she yells, hands clasped in front of her and shaking. “Stop! Please!”

Well, maybe Willam’s not as attentive as he thinks.

“Come on, I’m fine!” Chloe teases as William rushes over. “Ooooh nooo I’m slipping!” she adds dramatically, slowly sliding one finger off the bar, long blonde hair waving in the wind.

Max reaches Chloe before William does, taking hold of her wrist and pulling back with what little body weight she has. Chloe spots William first and her face falls. “Dad, I’m just—”

“Nope.” And with that, William reaches over the railing and grabs Chloe under the arms, hoisting her up and setting her down right beside Max.

Before William can get a word in scolding Chloe, Max has already embraced her, holding her tight. “W-woah, Max, I was just joking,” Chloe mumbles, looking embarrassed.

“Don’t do that,” Max insists, her voice wet and low. “Please, Chloe, I was so scared.”

“I’m sorry,” Chloe murmurs, wrapping her arms around Max. “I won’t do it again, I’m sorry.”

William barely feels the need to tell Chloe off after that. Max has cowed her enough. And that’s when he starts really noticing.

 

* * *

 

William checks his watch for the third time in ten minutes. He told the girls they could stay out for an hour after school, as long as they stayed near the grounds and didn’t get in any trouble. Chloe walks home every day, after all, and she’s proven herself to be _very_ protective of Max. William noticed that, too. Mostly because he had to be called into the office when Chloe punched one of Max’s bullies.

But it’s been two hours, and because both Joyce and Vanessa insist that the girls are too young for cell phones, William’s about to go searching himself when the doorbell rings and Chloe shouts “Help!”

He rushes to the front door and swings it open to reveal Chloe carrying Max in her arms, panting heavily. Max is red as a beet. “Max got hurt,” Chloe informs William.

“So you carried her.”

“Yup!” Chloe looks inappropriately pleased with herself, but that’s William’s daughter. “Now we should probably go to a doctor.”

“Max, are you okay?” William asks, bending down.

“I don’t know…” Max mumbles, refusing to meet his eye.

“What happened?”

“She fell and twisted her ankle and she said she couldn’t walk,” Chloe says, hoisting Max up again to strengthen her grip.

“Which ankle?” William asks. Max points, and as soon as William pulls her jean leg up he sees that it’s red and swollen, and even his lightest touch makes Max hiss in pain. William sighs. “Come on, sweetie,” he says, taking her out of Chloe’s arms. “Let’s get you to urgent care. Lucky for us Chloe’s such a tough girl, huh?”

“Mhmm,” Max squeaks. William raises an eyebrow as he follows Chloe’s run to the car in the driveway.

The girls are granted phones shortly afterward. William pretends not to hear Chloe talking to her all night.

 

* * *

 

William’s not too surprised to see the TV still on when he comes downstairs at two in the morning. He’s used to telling Max and Chloe to get to bed already anytime he heads to the kitchen for a midnight snack. But this time, it seems like just Max is up, and she turns her head guiltily as she hears him enter the living room.

As William approaches, however, he sees that Max isn’t alone after all. Chloe has her head in Max’s lap, snoring away peacefully as Max stares at a DVD menu screen. Max’s fingers are still twined in her hair, like she’d been stroking it.

“What are you still doing up, Max?” William asks gently. She tenses her shoulders, biting her lip.

“I dunno.”

“Did she trap you?”

“Kinda.”

“You can push her off, you know.”

“I don’t want to.” Max’s whisper is practically inaudible.

William can’t help but smile. The evidence pile gets bigger every day.

“Just make sure you get to bed sometime, all right?” he asks, ruffling her hair. “If my wife comes down in the morning and sees you two passed out on the couch one more time I think you’ll be banned from the house.”

“Okay.”

William leaves Max alone, and luckily she isn’t found in the same compromising position in the morning. They buy a new TV the next week and put the old one up in Chloe’s room. William knows he’s only encouraging their insomnia and Chloe’s PS2 addiction, but they seem so happy to have their own space.

 

* * *

 

William is not totally surprised to see the giant wine stain on the floor after he and Joyce come back from their weekend away. This is what happens when you leave a thirteen-year-old and her hapless, easily-led friend alone for a night.

He is surprised when Chloe immediately steps in front of Max and says, “It was my fault.”

“So Max had nothing to do with it?” William asks as Joyce sighs beside him. Max stares at her shoes.

“Nope. All me. She was asleep.”

“Max fell asleep before you,” William clarifies. “Because that happens ever.”

“Yes,” Chloe says, folding her arms and pursing her lips.

William casts a glance at his wife, who’s raising her eyebrows at him. “Well, then. I suppose Mrs. and Mr. Caulfield don’t _need_ to know. You, young lady, are grounded for two weeks, however,” he says, pointing at Chloe.

Chloe lifts her chin defiantly. “Fine.”

“That means no phone, too.”

“What?!” Max objects suddenly.

“It’s fine, Max,” Chloe says, shooting her a glance.

“Now, if you admit that you _both_ were sneaking our wine,” William says, smirking, “It’s only one week for both of you. I’m sure Vanessa will agree with me.”

There’s a fairly intense eye contact conversation between the two girls, and Max ends up looking away first. “No, I was asleep,” Max says.

“All right. Come on, Max, I’ll take you home.”

As William leads Max away, she keeps throwing pitiful glances over her shoulder, but Chloe remains steadfast even as Joyce starts lecturing her. Max remains quiet all the way home, sticking to her story to the bitter end.

 

* * *

 

William’s rather surprised to see Max head out the door without Chloe giving her a goodbye. He thought the party had gone quite well last night, but Chloe remains mysteriously absent from the first floor for another hour. Curiosity and worry get the better of him, and he heads upstairs, finding Chloe’s door closed. He knocks carefully.

“Sweetie? Can I come in?” he calls.

“Yeah,” is the muffled, mumbled reply. He carefully turns the knob, making sure to close the door behind him. Chloe sits on the edge of the bed, still in her pajamas, tangling a strand of her hair around her finger, over and over again.

William takes a seat next to her. “I saw Max leave already. Did you guys have a fight last night?” he asks.

“N-not exactly,” Chloe murmurs. “It was... good. It was really good.”

“So what’s wrong? Just tired?”

“No.” Chloe takes in a deep breath. “When...when we were going to sleep…” She bites her lip, eyes flitting to William. “You can keep a secret, right? You won’t tell mom?”

William braces himself. He’s seen this coming for a long while, but maybe Chloe really hasn’t. “Of course.”

“We just...we cuddled. We were so close and I wanted to…” Chloe’s fingers dig into her knee. “I think…”

He puts a hand on her shoulder, steadies her. “I think I like Max,” she finally manages, her voice cracking. “Like...you know…”

“I know,” William says softly.

“It’s just, when we were, I wanted to kiss her,” Chloe babbles, falling forward. “And, and when I woke up, I still wanted to but, but I don’t feel like I’m supposed to, you know? I had to like, pretend to be asleep, and then she knew I was pretending and she kept asking me what was wrong and I lied to her and, and…” She covers her eyes. “I can’t tell her, she can’t _know_ —”

“Why not?”

“B-because,” Chloe stammers.

“She might like you too,” William suggests, carefully. Chloe violently shakes her head.

“No, no, there’s no way, I’m just a, a freak—”

“Now where did you hear that?” William asks. “Because it’s certainly not what I taught you.”

“We never talked about it, though,” Chloe says. “N-not, you know, for real, just...kids at school, it seems like they know, or something. They call me names behind my back.”

William chuckles. “Because you’d knock them to the ground if they said it to your face.”

“Right.” Chloe laughs a little too, leaning into his side. But when she swallows before starting her next sentence, it’s wet and hoarse. “I just, there’s these times, some days, where I think nobody really likes me. Where I just feel...empty. I don’t know. And it feels like that whenever I think about...about telling Max. Like there’s just no way. I can’t lose her.”

“She’s a special girl,” William says, smoothing his hand down her back.

Chloe nods fiercely. “Really really special.” And she turns and buries her head in his chest, sobbing. William holds her tight, head spinning. Is she okay? Should she see someone about the way she’s been feeling? Is he right to be this worried or is this just...what happens, when you figure out you’re gay? He should’ve done more research. Parenting throws such odd obstacles in your way.

Once Chloe’s breath has calmed a little, William tries to think of what to say. “Well, even if she doesn’t like you back, which honestly I doubt a little bit—”

“How long did you know?” Chloe asks, drawing back and looking at him accusingly with bloodshot eyes.

William rubs the back of his neck. “I didn't  _know,_ I just thought. Look, Chloe, what I’m trying to say is...Max isn’t gonna abandon you, okay? You might want to tell her, but it’s your choice when, just like it was your choice to tell me just now.”

Chloe nods. “Okay.” She wipes her nose. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Of course, sweetie.” He gives her a quick squeeze. “I’ll always be here for you.”

 

* * *

 

There’s something he always finds very fulfilling, hanging around his girls. It’s easy to cook with them, take pictures when Max asks him to, chat with them, watching them grow up before his eyes, catching Chloe’s glances when they pass by each other. It’s been a while since that talk, but today Chloe’s in a good mood, laughing and demanding swear jar donations.

The call from Joyce is unexpected, but William’s not shy about leaving the two to their own devices — though he does warn them not to have another wine tasting session as he heads out the door.

When he asks if Max is sticking around for dinner, Chloe cheerily shouts, “She’s never leaving me!”

William smiles at her as he heads out.

“That makes all of us.”

 


End file.
